Hazel Ceej

My moment as a mom this week was to enlist CJ in a Children's Convention on May 3-5. He is going with Grandma. I gladly anticipate results. As an auntie I recall a happy dining moment with nephew CaCoy.  We - cousins, spouses and kids lazed an entire week away in Huahin, the Thai royal family's summer home. One of those evenings we had dinner in the night market opposite the beach. I marvel at CaCoy's changing colors.  With a half Spanish paternal Grandma I swear he was pale pink as a baby. With football in school his ecru skin slowly vanished. Then he went chasing coconut bugs in the glare of the tropical sun. That was the final straw. He turned midnight black without further ado. Happiness is ..., Mommy Moments and Color Connection

Children. Don't they amuse or annoy and even confuse when they are cheeky? When they call a white object blue and accompany that declaration with a cute smirk - at least I, as a PDD mom find my mind in a pirouette over a little cheekiness from my boy. Grandma chats with a neighbor. The chat goes on for awhile and CJ plays precocious: "Shut up!" hands on ears and pretending to be distressed, "I'm going to sleep. Everyone, quiet!" A friend's son, Daniel (the chubby chinoy on his mom's lap) behaves like CJ in some ways. While the rest of the family gathered around the TV for a pinoy movie to conclude our dinner, Daniel and I sat on the bed where he nailed one delightful observation: Daniel: Auntie, what is that? Me: (examining the bottle) A liniment. What color is it, Daniel? Daniel: Green. Me: (muttering to myself) Thank goodness I don't have to smell like a quack doctor's patient with this product. (then back from my private thoughts) Come Dan...

All the while I was imagining CJ's computer was being used mainly for homework and educational entertainment. Oblivious me. The use has been more like games. It is probably time to buy a new computer again as the old one overheated last night.  Smoked to kingdom come. Bye-bye Pooh Bear (nickname of CJ's computer). So the Grandma complained that after Pooh Bear, CJ's attention has been on her phone.  I asked what he was doing with it. "Games of course," Mother sounded exasperated. "But he's never been exposed to that sort of thing," I countered.  "Well, hello Girl, it only took your son one look at his cousin doing it, and now he's into soccer, soccer, soccer!" Ops.... These boys have a little explaining to do. The poor Grandma tries to hide her phone lest some mischievous fingers tinker their way to it. They usually do and when she needs to use it, she hears this: "Buy me a real phone Grandma so that I will not borrow yours. Tell M...

'Tis the season for medals, ribbons, caps and gowns in the Philippines! A cousin's son finished kindergarten and took home many awards, the niece I talked about in a previous post wore the graduation gift I sent her and posted photos on Facebook. I wanted to steal one to show off here but decided against it (lol). On moving up day CJ got a ribbon for being most obedient . I was more amused than impressed. At home CJ could be quite difficult to handle when it comes to obeying but my mother and I thought it was better not to contradict the teacher :).  Over at my faculty a Business Administration graduating class gave me a basketful of 'thank you' gift. The medal is CJ's. He got it while attending K1 in Bangkok. More happy stuff - Mother hosts dinner for nephews and nieces who are on school break, a nephew's girlfriend gives birth, and CJ socializes with his cousins - which is big deal to me considering his developmental issues . The therapy sessions must be wo...

A heap of celebrations fill March 21st - International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, National Common Courtesy Day .... Out of thirteen there are two that particularly attracted me: National Single Parents Day and Children's Poetry Day . Raising my kid all by myself makes me fond of National Single Parents Day. On its FB page this About is written: The goal of National Single Parents Day is to empower single parents and their friends and family.... Public awareness of issues affecting single parents is so important. Thank goodness I do not own all single parent-related issues in the world. God must love me this much he has granted me enough financial independence for as long as I can remember after earning work qualifications. To commemorate Children's Poetry Day, let me share this poem from iloveindia.com. I italicized lines that are not true to my son, nor to me.  The rest are. My Childhood My childhood was fun, tough and exciting, My childhood was one...

“Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes.” That is one of my fave quotes about shoes. Except perhaps books, nothing excites me more than the sight of shoes . CJ's 4th Crocs are among other pairs I could hardly remember to track. Back when my Ex was drawn to the Casino at the Thai - Cambodia border, I focused in the shoe shops.  Last night I went shopping with a cousin who got this beauty to match her daughter's summer dress - Daughter is due to graduate next week and I surprised my cousin by saying "on me" when she decided to check out this pair - My niece studies at the same school I attended. In my time there wasn't any 'shoe regulation' during commencement exercises, and I didn't hear of any nowadays. A girl friend once said to me that they had shoe guidelines at her medschool graduation, but she wore what she liked anyway. I could have hard...

LDP or long - distance parenting entails lengthy phone calls and expensive phone bills. The latter element of this reality changed when a cousin began selling calls to the Philippines, each lasting 49 minutes for only 110 baht. Quite a break from when I used to pay an average of 4,000 baht a month and sometimes twice that figure; which is more than enough for a low cost two-way Bangkok - Manila ticket. That is something I am greatly thankful for and happy about nowadays. The other thing is learning something new out of LDP:  Special Power of Attorney, which authorizes a guardian to process documents in behalf of a minor. My kiddo's Philippine passport (he has dual citizenship; holds two passports) needs to be renewed as the plan this summer is for him to do some traveling again. This notarial service at the Philippine embassy in Bangkok is efficient. I got the SPA and sent it by registered mail within three hours yesterday. It looks like I'm dealing with airports, air crafts,...

Are you familiar with Jacquie Lawson ecards? Thom , a bloggity friend sent me an animated flash ecard by Jacquie Lawson . That was about three years ago and though he's no longer blogging regularly nowadays, these ecards keep coming. And do I like these cards? You bet! A few reasons why I like, no, love them: Following instructions and discovering what comes out is so much fun. I love what I see so much I take a shot of one scene despite knowing the result won't be as I see it live on screen. They are hand paintings! Just my kind of art.And the music works perfectly for me. Here's an example: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7V_Ya8uRmk&feature=related[/youtube] Back to fabulous Thom Robinson. Except for our blogging interaction I haven't done anything to compel him to send me cards that are costing him . So I call it pure thoughtfulness on his part. Last week I sent him a message thanking him for the Valentine ecard. He replied asking how CJ is . He even re...

"They got second place in the sack race. I asked Maybelle to accompany him. They're getting ready for the mass dance now." That was my mother's SMS on February 17th.  I had forgotten that CJ was in Marbel for the Kiddie Fest, a children's activity organized by the Department of Education, participated in by both public and private school children. Reality poked me again:  I am doing long-distance parenting right now and have to live with bits and pieces of this arrangement until we snag a better option. Fortunately I can be grateful and happy for the presence of loved ones in my son's life while I am not physically around. Maybelle is my deceased cousin's youngest daughter. I took this photo of her and CJ goofing at home last summer. I am glad they get along well.  Thank you, Maybelle for being CJ's sack race partner. I imagine myself leaping about with a 7 year-old in a sack. My mind flies back to a parade of high heels and work suits in my apartment,...

How often do you get to a cafe with part of its walls like this? To be honest I had no idea what was this. But I love literature, and I am always thrilled to spot references to it in places I do not expect them to be at. A bit of skimming tells me this is from a novel called Holes by Louis Sachar .  It won the 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, and was adapted into a film in 2003. What adds to my delight is finding that in 1999 Holes won the Newbery Medal for "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." 'For Children .' As moms aren't we always on the lookout for media that we would consider sharing to our kids? This post is linked with Happiness is ... and Mommy Moments .

A one and a half, early morning flight from Manila usually arrives in Gensan when the sun is blazing. Too hot. I understand why this flower has wilted. Looking at all these DSLR products everywhere tells me this shot is blurred. I am a little dissatisfied of it myself but I am keeping it for good reason. And that is because my son gave it to me at the airport. A friend passed through the same airport a couple of weeks ago. I was wondering if this was the same flower as the one my son gave me. It looks like a flowering tree. I never gave it any other notice beyond vaguely thinking it's pretty and that's that. But I guess now you would know why I think it is more than just pretty. This post is linked with Happiness is ... and Mommy Moments .

Happiness is... rocking a baby in high heels. It was very late. The then husband and I just got back from a wedding. I thought CJ was fast asleep but his Grandma said he was wide awake. I scooped him up. It was my first time to carry him around in 3-inch stilettos and it was rather fun. We stepped outside for a bit of fresh air, at the same time tailing CJ's Dad as he prepared to get the car in the garage. I thought why not have a snapshot of the moment. So we did. This post is shared @ Extra Room for Happiness Hi, My Little Professor is a new blog. I am on the process of importing posts from an old blog which started as musings about the kiddo and mommyhood. That blog has ballooned into many other posts covering a few other different interests. Guess this mom couldn't just shut up. Meanwhile I am updating pages during lunch breaks. The 'organize' bug has bitten me, and I hope the 'rush' bug will bite me as well so I get this site up running smoothly soon. I lo...